


One Year in New York

by CameronOfTroy



Series: The One-Night-in-Brooklyn-verse [2]
Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Fluff, GUYS, M/M, did i write this in two nights?, guys i wrote so much fluff, holy crap guys, yes i did
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 16:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16308284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CameronOfTroy/pseuds/CameronOfTroy
Summary: (Direct sequel to One Night in Brooklyn)But what comes after the amazing kiss in the rain? How can two kids make it work in the city that never sleeps?





	One Year in New York

**Date 1**

               Bram paced around the living room, his anxiety making his hands jitter. He sat down on the couch and drummed his fingers on his knees for five minutes, then he got up and paced around again, and sat back down on the couch. He stared at his phone on the coffee table in front of him. He reached for it then stopped himself, reclining back into the couch. A minute later he picked it up anyway and tapped it. The clock said 5:43 pm.

               Simon said he would pick him up at six. Bram flopped back onto the couch and groaned, covering his face with his hands.

               “Why am I like this?” he muttered into his palms. His arms fell to his sides and he stared at the piece of plywood the superintendent had put over the window Simon smashed last night. Ken hadn’t exactly been… happy about it. One thing was sure, Bram and Garrett weren’t getting their security deposit back.

               The intercom buzzed and Bram jumped. He got up and attempted to nonchalantly walk over to the intercom except he didn’t nonchalantly walk; he jogged quite chalantly. He got to the intercom and waited a second to compose himself before pushing the button. He leaned against the wall next to the door and thought about sitting down somewhere but before he could there was a knock on the door. Bram stood up rigidly. After unlocking the door, he yanked it open.

               Simon Spier stood in the hall, and just… wow. He had on a pair of nice light jeans and a darker denim jacket. Underneath the jacket he had a thin hoodie on and Bram was able to spot the collar of a plaid button up shirt poking through the neck of the hoodie. Before Bram was able to say a word, Simon brought his hand out from behind him and pulled out a bouquet of flowers.

               “I got you flowers,” he said before grimacing slightly. Bram delicately took the bouquet from Simon and sniffed.

               “I love them,” Bram said as a smile broke out on his face. He looked up at Simon, and Simon’s grimace turned into a smile too. “Do you want to come in while I put these in some water?”

               “Uh, sure.” Bram moved over and let Simon enter his apartment before closing the door behind him. As Bram crossed to the kitchen, he watched Simon take in the apartment (stopping to stare at the plywood-window). “You have a nice place! How did you and Garrett find it?”

               “My mom knows a guy,” Bram said as he opened cupboards looking for some sort of vase. When he found one under the sink, he pulled it out and blew on it. Dust flew into the air, making Bram cough a little.

               “Bram are you okay?” Bram turned to look at Simon, whose eyes were wide with concern. Bram coughed a little again and nodded.

               “Fine, vase is just a bit dusty,” Bram turned on the tap and started rinsing the dust off, “We don’t use it a lot. Not many boys bringing me flowers.”

               “Well then they’re all missing out,” Bram looked back up at Simon, a shy smile peeking out of his lips. Bram filled up the vase and put it on the center island of the kitchen. Then he took the flowers out of their protective wrap and delicately dunked them in the vase.

               “There,” he said, standing back to admire them, “they’re really pretty.”

               “I’m happy you like them,” Simon smiled at him sheepishly, hiding his face in a bit of his hoodie where it folded over on itself. Bram walked over to Simon.

               “It’s be impossible not to like them,” he said, then in a whisper, “they’re from you.” Simon beamed at that, then closed the distance between himself and Bram and kissed him. It was slow and delicate, and made Bram warm inside even though the plywood window was drafty.

               “We should get going. Get this first date started,” whispered Simon.

               “I’m sorry, this isn’t even the date?” joked Bram, a smile spreading across his face.

               “This is just the prologue,” replied Simon before leaning in and kissing Bram again.

**Date 5**

               Even if this was on Bram’s New York Bucket List, he honestly couldn’t believe this was about to happen. But here was, in line with Simon to go skating in Rockefellar Plaza. Simon had gotten them tickets as soon as he had found out it was on Bram’s list, but how he got tickets for this soon was astounding. The tree had only just been lit last week.

               “Excited?” Simon asked, looking over at Bram.

               “You have no idea,” he replied as the grin that was plastered on his face started to hurt. But he did not care.

               Pretty soon it was their turn onto the ice, and as soon as the gate opened Bram pushed out and skated laps around the ice. He looked up at the tree and the buildings and smiled as lifted his arms and felt the wind flow across them. It was a minute into his bliss that he realized Simon was not right behind him. Bram panicked a little, scanning the ice expecting the worst. He quickly spotted Simon on the other side of the rink, slowly skating as 7-year-olds sped past him. Every now and then he’d wobble and immediately grab onto the boards of the rink. Bram skated over.

               “You okay?” he asked after he had stopped beside Simon.

               “Yeah, yeah, I just…” Simon grabbed onto the wall again as his left leg wobbled, “I’ve never really skated before.”

               “Oh…” Bram nodded, thinking, “Then why did you want to do this?”

               “Because you wanted to do this,” Simon smiled at Bram, then grimaced as his right leg gave out a little and he fell to his knees. Bram chuckled and held out his hand.

               “C’mon,” he said as he helped Simon up, “I’ll teach you how to skate.” Bram held up his other hand, which Simon tentatively held. Then, with the grace of someone who had played sports all his life (such as Bram had), he gracefully glided backwards pulling Simon with him.

               “Alright, just lightly push off with one foot… that’s good!” He said as he let Simon push him, “Don’t worry I’ve got you. Now the other foot.” Bram coached Simon like this around the rink a couple times, and slowly Bram saw a smile grow from the nervous frown on Simon’s face.

               “You’re doing it, Si!” Bram encouraged. Simon laughed a little. But then his skate caught on the ice, and he fell into Bram’s arms. Bram thought he was ready for it, but the force of Simon falling into him knocked him back a little and he and Simon fell onto the ice, with Bram ending up under Simon.

               “Oh my god Bram I’m so sorry are you okay?” Simon said, almost shouted, while he leaned over Bram.

               “Yeah,” Bram said, “just a little winded.” Slowly Simon slid off of Bram and allowed Bram to sit up.

               “I’m just not that good at skating, I’m sorry. I’m ruining this for you.” Simon looked away a little, and Bram reached out and gently turned Simon’s head to look him in the eyes.

               “You’re not ruining this for me. Skating with you here is so much better than skating alone would have ever been,” he smiled, “This has been perfect, Si.” As he said this, small flurries of snow descended around them. Simon looked up at the clouds above them.

               “Huh… like I get it’s December but it still feels early for snow…” then he looked back at Bram. And before Simon could react, Bram leaned in and kissed Simon. And it was perfect.

               “Hey! Get out of the way or get off the ice!” An angry New Yorker yelled at them as he skated past. Simon broke out of the kiss and glared at the skater.

               “We’re having a moment here!” He yelled back, causing Bram to hold back a laugh. Simon turned back to Bram, and Bram found it even harder to hold back his laughter. As it came out, Simon started laughing too. After a moment of laughing, and before the irate skater could make another loop. Bram got up off the ice then held out his hands for Simon.

               “Come on, let’s keep going.”

 

**Date 8**

               “You may now roam freely about the cabin” said the stewardess over the loudspeaker, and Bram quickly undid his seat belt. When he noticed Simon looking at him quizzically, Bram blushed.

               “Flying makes me nervous,” he said without looking at Simon.

               “No, really?” joked Garrett from the other side of Simon, who was quickly elbowed by Simon, “Ow, jeez” Garrett moaned as he feigned injury, “You got me right in the ribs, Spier.”

               “You okay?” Simon asked Bram, ignoring Garrett’s moaning. Bram nodded slowly.

               “Yeah, just a little queasy but it’ll pass,” he lied, knowing that the queasy feeling would still be there until they were back on terra firma.

               “Anything I can do to help?” Simon asked, still concerned. Bram turned to look at him.

               “Just talk to me?” Simon smiled a little.

               “Okay,” he whispered back. “So, we’re both going to be in Shady Creek until a day two days after New Year’s. Which means we have 14 days to spread between family, friends and each other.”

               “And me,” Garrett chimed in from beside Simon.

               “You’re part of ‘friends’,” Simon said as he turned to look at Garrett, “Besides won’t you be spending your whole vacation facetiming Erica?”

               “No!” Garret replied, then paused, “Maybe.”

               “You want to facetime her right now, don’t you?” asked Bram. Garrett fidgeted a little.

               “I just miss her so much.” He said quietly.

               “You saw her like an hour ago before we boarded!”

               “I know…” Garrett shrank in on himself a little, before fishing out his iPhone to FaceTime Erica. Bram sighed as Simon turned back to look at him.

               “So, as I was saying, 14 days. Clearly, we are doing New Year’s together. I think Nick wanted to host something,” Simon continued, “And Christmas day will probs just be for our families but we should do something, just you and I on Christmas Eve.”

               “Like what?” Bram asked as he ignored Garrett talking to his girlfriend two seats over.

               “We could do a WaHo breakfast date.” Suggested Simon as he shrugged a little.

               “Okay but that would require you actually getting up in the morning,” joked Bram. He was barely able to get his arms up to defend himself before Simon picked up his travel pillow and smacked Bram with it.

               “There is no need to be rude,” Simon said trying to be fake angry, but breaking down into laughter right after, “No need at all!”

               “Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Bram said between laughs. “I’m sure you can wake up on time all on your own.” He let out another laugh as Simon hit him again.

               “Damn right,” Simon said with a smile.

               They talked like that for another few hours, discussing holiday plans for before they landed in Georgia. After that Bram felt tired as the lack of energy leftover from his exams caught up to him, and he fell asleep. He woke up much later as the stewardess spoke over the intercom again.

               “We will be starting our descent soon so if everyone would please return to their seats,” and the seat belt light turned on. Bram felt a slight pressure on his shoulder and turned to inspect it. Simon was passed the fuck out on his shoulder, a small little drool escaping form his slightly open mouth. Beside them, Garrett was taking pictures of them.

               “Hey!” Bram whispered aggressively at Garrett, who put the phone down.

               “What?! You guys looked adorable!” Garrett whispered back, then showed Bram one of the pictures he’d taken. Both of them were asleep, and while Simon was still leaning on Bram’s shoulder in the picture Bram’s head was rested against Simon’s head. Bram smiled.

               “Send that to me later,” he whispered, “But first help me buckle him in.” Garrett nodded, and together they managed to fasten Simon into his seat without disturbing him. In fact, Simon didn’t wake up until after they’d landed, and people were starting to leave the plane. Bram had to jostle him awake.

               “Simon. Simon!” he whispered into his ear, and Simon slowly woke up and looked at Bram with a dazed look, “We’ve landed babe.” Bram said with a smile. Simon looked from Bram past Bram out the window to see snowless Georgia.

               “Already?” he asked, looking back at Bram.

               “Yeah, already.”

               “Okay,” Simon reached down and undid his seat belt. He looked back at Bram, “How was the flight for you? Did that queasy feeling go away?”

               Bram was about to reply with a lie until he realized that he’d stopped feeling queasy by the time he had woken up to find Simon him. He smiled at Simon, who apparently even made him unconsciously feel better.

               “Yeah. Yeah it did.”

 

**Date 13**

               Bram was having a terrible birthday. First off, his professor in his first class had decided to announce an additional midterm into the syllabus today (which Bram felt was like university-illegal but he didn’t have the energy to figure out how to refute it). Then the Starbucks near his apartment was closed because of some sort of dairy and rat related incident (those were the words the sign on the locked door used, and Bram wasn’t sure if he wanted an elaboration). After that Garrett revealed he had to go home suddenly because his younger sister had ended up in the hospital (“Yeah, of course I’ll tell them you would’ve come too but no you should stay here Greenfeld. It’s going to be fine.”) And of course the window STILL hadn’t been repaired yet because the superintendent was STILL waiting on his window guy to get back to him about an estimate and it was cold as shit in the apartment (Frank the super was just as upset he still hadn’t fixed it as Bram, and had even started giving Simon pointed looks in the halls when he came over because Frank knew it was his fault it was broken in the first place).

               But the worst thing, the thing that made this birthday so terrible, even though it was on a Friday which is prime birthday real estate, is that he wouldn’t be able to see Simon today. Because Simon had play practice for this semester’s production. And Bram couldn’t fault him for that, especially since it was only on Fridays because of like three super difficult cast members. And Simon was a lead this semester, so Bram wasn’t going to make him feel bad about that.

               But he knew that Simon would be in class from 10:00 until 5:30, then at 6:00 play practice started and if last week (which was only the FIRST rehearsal) was any indication, it could last until 10:00 at night. And Simon wouldn’t see any texts until then. So Bram didn’t want to bother him with his bad birthday.

               Instead, Bram went into the freezer and retrieved a pint of Ben and Jerry’s (Garrett had started keeping a steady stock of them since November “Just in case”). Then he went into his room, grabbed a blanket and scrolled through Netflix for half an hour trying to choose a movie.

               When he heard the door open, he was trying to decide on if he wanted a horror movie or an action movie. Bram nearly dropped his half empty pint of ice cream when that happened, thinking for half a second that a burglar had somehow made their way into his apartment.

               “Bram?”

               Simon? What was Simon doing here? He had rehearsal! Bram got up from his bed and walked out into the living room. Simon stood there in his jacket, having kicked off his boots. In one hand were his copy of Bram’s key (he’d gotten one literally a week ago) and a pizza box, and in the other was a plastic bag with something in it, Bram couldn’t tell. Simon smiled as Bram approached him.

               “Happy birthday baby!” He put the pizza down on the island then pulled Bram into a kiss. Bram leaned into it, immediately feeling his mood get better. Then he pulled back a little.

               “What are you doing here, don’t you have rehearsal?”

               “Well, cool story about that! Meghan, you know, the one who’s playing Audrey? Yeah, she got mono last night! And her understudy, Lily, was already out with the flu! So without and Audrey, we had to call off rehearsal today!” Simon was smiling as he told Bram this.

               “Simon, that’s horrible!” Bram replied.

               “Well yeah, clearly, this really puts us behind BUT!! This means I get to spend your birthday with you!” Simon reached over and opened the pizza box, “I got us your favorite from Marv’s, All-Dressed with extra jalapenos,” Simon closed the box again, “which I still think is nasty, by the way.” Bram snickered, then nodded at the plastic bag.

               “What’s in there?”

               “Ah, yes! I thought that, even though it’s Friday, we could just have a night in with a movie marathon, so I ran to that store near my place with 2$ DVDs and got as many Sandra Bullock and Meg Ryan movies as I could find. Almost bought “You’ve Got Mail” but that felt a little on the nose for us.”

               “Oh yeah, we totally did it better,” Bram joked as he wrapped his arms around Simon.

               “I agree completely,” Simon looked up into Bram’s eyes, “And we have the apartment all to ourselves.” Bram leaned back a little.

               “Babe, how did you know that?” he mused with a smile on his face.

               “Garrett… may have texted me…” Simon muttered as a blush rose to his face.

               “Uh-huh,” smiled Simon, before leaning in and kissing Simon, “Well that sound perfect,” he whispered.

               Two hours later, when they were curled up on the couch in the living room together sharing a blanket, and all the pizza was eaten and Meg Ryan was arguing with Billy Crystal about whether or not men and women can be friends, Bram looked down at Simon. Simon didn’t notice Bram watching him, as instead he was intently watching the movie (when Bram found out he’d never seen When Harry Met Sally Bram was a little bit insistent they watch it). Bram smiled as his boyfriend absorbed the movie.

               This was a pretty good birthday after all.

 

**Date 19**

               Bram once again found himself in line with Simon, waiting to cross something off the bucket list. But this time it wasn’t his bucket list they were working on. It was Simon’s.

               As they neared the elevators inside the Empire State Building, Simon started bounce in place. A wide smile was plastered to his face. He was gripping the rose Bram had given him not an hour earlier when he’d surprised him on campus for Valentine’s Day.

               “Si, babe, you’re going to need to calm down.” Bram joked as the line started moving again.

               “I wish I could,” sighed Simon. After the line stopped moving, Bram could tell they were going to be on the next elevator up. Evidently, so could Simon, since he started to bounce faster.

               “I swear you’re basically a golden retriever,” laughed Bram. Simon turned to look at him.

               “Honestly, being a dog would be the best thing ever.” He said.

               “Really?”

               “Yup, cause then I can just stay home all day and nap.”

               Bram chuckled, “Yeah but then the whole family would be focused on you all the time and I don’t think you could handle that amount of attention.”

               “Maybe not,” said Simon, turning back to the elevators as the next one arrived and opened, releasing a herd of tourists, “But since you can’t turn people into dogs I guess we’ll never know.” Then the line started moving into the elevator car and Simon moved forward. Later, Bram would affectionately tell his friends Simon had “pranced” onto the elevator.

               The elevator couldn’t rise fast enough. Simon’s left foot started to tap rapidly on the carpeted floor, which barely obscured the rapping noise. Others on the elevator started to look at Simon annoyedly, and when Bram noticed he gently put his foot on Simon’s that was tapping. Simon looked down at his foot then around the cabin.

               “Sorry,” he said shyly. Most people went back to minding their own business. One woman smiled kindly at him. An older gentleman in the back of the car harrumphed. Bram gave him the dirtiest look he could muster.

               When the elevator doors opened Simon surged forwards into the throng of people in the top floor, and Bram had trouble keeping up with him. But somehow, he did, and pretty soon they were running out through the door onto the observation deck.

               The first thing Bram noticed was that it was much, much colder at the top than it was down in the street. It was also a lot windier, because as soon as they had gotten outside a gust of wind had ripped the rose out of Simon’s hand and carried up over the grate surrounding the observation deck. Then the rose fell back into the street.

               “No,” uttered Simon, a look of absolute devastation breaking his carefree smile. Bram grabbed his hand and tugged it so Simon would look at him.

               “Don’t worry, I’ll buy you a new one,” he said with a smile, and Simon’s bright, infectious smile broke free again. Simon grabbed Bram’s hand back and pulled him to the edge.

               They spent a long time up there, looking out over New York. They spent some time trying to find each other’s apartments below, then specific places that were important to them (like the diner right beside Times Square they stayed in until 3 am when they went on their first date, or the frat house where they first kissed). Bram progressively felt colder and colder but he didn’t care, because Simon’s smile alone was warming him up. But eventually even Simon started to wane, and then it was time to go. Simon had tired himself out, and he leaned his head on Bram as they walked back inside to the elevators.

               Before leaving the stopped in the gift shop where Bram bought Simon a 3-inch-tall model of the Empire State Building, and Simon bought Bram a tiny picture frame that was also a fridge magnet. And as they left out into the street, Simon let go of Bram’s hand for a second and Bram watched him go over to a bunch of trashcans. Before Bram could ask him what he was doing, Simon knelt down and pulled a rose – HIS rose – out from behind the trashcan. Simon wiped a little snow off it, then sniffed it. He smiled a tired smile, then walked back over to Bram.

               “Good as new!” he said as he grabbed Bram’s hand again and leaned into him.

               “You know that that’s probably got like rat piss on it now right?”

               “Nonsense! At most, it’s got herpes now,” joked Simon. Bram laughed with him, then their laughter slowly faded. “I really shouldn’t have smelled it.”

               “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” smiled Bram, putting his arm across Simon’s back and pulling him into himself, “Come on, let’s go home.”

 

**Date 22**

Bram was unsure how this had happened. Actually, that’s a bit of a lie, because he could trace the exact series of events. It had started in January, when Abby and Leah announced they coming up to New York for March Break. Then Abby and Simon decided that they were going to go on a double date. They had also decided that this double date was going to be dinner and a Broadway play. They also decided said play was going to be Mean Girls.

               Then in early February Garrett asked if he and Erica could join them for that to make their double date a triple date, because Erica had always wanted to see it. After some deliberation, they said yes.

               Then somehow Nick found out. And while the word “jealous” was never used to his face or in group chats, Bram and Simon used it jokingly whenever they were cuddling at 2 am. So now it was a quadruple date, with Nick bringing his ‘mystery date’ that he refused to reveal the identity of, though it was “someone you all know”.

               “I’m not in the mood for you to be cryptic, Nicholas!” was Leah’s immediate response to that in the group chat.

               And now it was the night in question. Bram and Garrett were rushing to get ready because pretty soon Simon and Erica would both be showing up, and then they were going to Uber together to the restaurant. As Bram tried to chose a shirt (would Simon like THIS blue button up or THIS blue button up?), Garrett basically kicked open Bram’s door and came charging in shirtless.

               “I NEED A SHIRT!” he yelled.

               “YOU HAVE SO MANY!” Bram yelled back.

               “ERICA’S SEEN THEM ALL!! LEND ME YOUR PURPLE ONE!!”

               “FINE!!” Bram threw the shirts he was holding on the bed, ran over to the closet and pulled out the shirt in question. He tossed it at Garrett, then picked up the two shirts on his bed, “WHICH ONE DO YOU THINK SIMON WILL LIKE?!” Garrett looked at the shirts, before pointing to the one on the left.

               “THIS ONE!!”

               “THANK YOU!!” Garrett nodded at him then ran back to his own room.

               “GARRETT?!” Bram called. Garrett came running back to Bram’s room, huffing as he struggled to put one of the sleeves on. “Why are we yelling?” Bram asked more calmly.

               “I have absolutely no idea,” Garrett replied, before going back to his room to put on a tie. Bram put the chosen shirt on and tucked it into a pair of navy chinos he had put on. As Bram struggled to decide on if he needed a tie or not, he heard the front door open.

               “Guys?” he heard Erica call, followed by the thump-thump-thump of Garrett dashing out to greet her. “Oh my god Garrett you look so handsome!”

               “And you look so pretty,” Bram heard Garrett reply, followed by what was definitely them kissing. Bram decided on a slim cotton tie that matched his pants, and rolled his sleeves up because he knew Simon liked it when he did that. He went out into the living room to find Erica and Garrett still lip-locked. It was then that Simon came bursting through the front door. Erica and Garrett did not notice, and Simon quietly walked around them to Bram.

               “Hi,” he whispered.

               “Hey,” whispered Bram back before taking in what Simon was wearing. He had gone with khaki chinos and a green and brown plaid shirt under his jean jacket. He was going tieless and had two buttons open at the top, which gave Bram a clear view of Simon’s collarbone, and a not so clear view of the hickey Bram had left there three days ago. It was while Bram was staring at the slightly concealed bruise that Simon leaned in and gave Bram a short but sweet kiss on the lips.

               “Your kisses still taste like Oreos” Bram whispered when Simon broke their kiss.

               “Yours still taste like peanut butter,” Simon whispered back, and they grinned at each other. Simon turned to look at Erica and Garrett. Still just… going at it. Simon looked at the time on his phone.

               “If the straights don’t stop soon we’re going to be late,” whispered Simon. Bram nodded, then put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Garrett yanked back from Erica and both turned to look at Simon and Bram standing by the newly installed window.

               “Ah, Simon, Bram. Good to see you’re both ready. We can finally get going,” Garrett intoned. Erica giggled beside him, then mouthed “sorry” to Bram and Simon as Garrett requested an Uber. Soon enough they were in a red Honda Civic on their way to the restaurant. When they got there they found Leah and Abby had already arrived and were sitting at their table.

               “Finally! What took you guys so long?!” Asked Leah as the four of them sat down. Erica sat beside Leah with Garrett beside her, while Bram and Simon sat across from the girls.

               “The straights were at it again,” joked Simon, causing Abby to nod in understanding.

               “Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you guys about that,” Garrett said, directing everyone’s attention to him. Bram noticed Erica delicately rubbing Garrett’s arm, “I’m pansexual.” The table sat in silence as they waited for Garrett to continue, “I’ve already told Erica, and this doesn’t mean I love her any less, it just means I am acknowledging that I’m attracted to more than just women… just… thought you guys should know.”

               “That’s amazing Garrett,” Leah said as Abby gave him a thumbs up from down the table.

               “Yeah, that’s awesome,” agreed Simon.

               “Proud of you bud,” said Bram, smiling at Garrett.

               “I guess this means the only heterosexual Shady Creek Gang member is Nick,” said Abby.

               “Yeah, where is that straight disaster?” Simon started to turn to the door to see if he could see Nick approaching. Leah pulled out her phone.

               “Well he said he was 15 minutes away 15 minutes ago, so he should be heeeeere… now!” she said as they watched Nick enter the restaurant.

               With Taylor Metternich.

               “No. Way.” Said Garrett as the jaw of every single Shady Creek alumnus hit the table. Before anyone could say a word (including Erica, who was confused as all hell), Nick had made it over to the table with Taylor.

               “Hey guys,” Nick said as he and Taylor sat down, “You guys order yet?” All eyes (other than Erica, who was looking all over the table) were still on Taylor Metternich, “Oh, so we’re doing this I see.”

               “What the WHAT?!” were the first words said, and they came from Leah.

               “Hi,” smiled Taylor Metternich, clearly trying to ignore how awkward this dinner was, “Good to see you guys too.”

               “Since when is this a thing?” Simon asked, trying his best to make the question come off as interested in their actual love life and not so much how in the HELL did Nick end up with Taylor Metternich.

               “Well, turns out we both went to Boston for university,” Nick said, “we ran into each other at a karaoke bar while we were out with our separate friend groups, caught up and yeah.”

               “He sang an Elton John song and I was like ‘how did I not know Nick could sing’?” Taylor joked, trying to ease the tension. Then she looked over at Erica, “I’m sorry, we haven’t been introduced.”

               “I’m Erica, Garrett’s girlfriend,” Erica said as she held out her hand across the table.

               “Oh! It’s so nice to meet you!” Taylor said as she shook Erica’s hand. Then the waiter arrived to take their orders, and slowly the awkwardness dissipated. As they ate, they talked a lot about being kids in Georgia. And Bram watched Simon as he laughed with their friends and Bram knew that this was going to be a good night.

 

**Date 26**

               As Bram and Simon approached the recognizable brownstone, Bram could make out the recognizable shape of Conner at the door.

               “Spier!” Conner yelled as Simon and Bram started to climb the steps to the frat house. “I see you brought Bram back. Glad to see a returning face.” Bram fished two twenty dollar bills out of his pocket and handed them over to Conner. “A man who pays… Simon Spier do you have a sugar daddy?”

               “Stop it Conner,” Simon replied in a joking tone as Bram’s cheeks ran ablaze.

               “You know I’m kidding. Well kids, have fun and enjoy the Winter Semester Kegger Extravanganza!” Conner exclaimed as Simon and Bram entered the frat party. Scanning the room, Bram saw the recognizable beer pong table to their left, and could see the keg in the kitchen at the back on the right.

               “Where to first?” Simon asked. Bram thought for a second before grabbing Simon’s hand and leading him up to the second floor, then finding an empty spot leaning on the railing where they could stand close to each other. Simon looked around then turned to look at Bram with a quizzical look.

               “This is where we gave up looking for the others and just talked,” smiled Bram, and Simon nodded in understanding. “Then we went downstairs and played beer pong. The we came up to that room,” Bram pointed past Simon to a closed door, “And played spin the bottle. The after that we went onto the roof and talked some more. And kissed.” Simon smiled at that memory, then frowned.

               “Then I ran away.” He whispered.

               “Hey, hey, Si. Listen, I’ve told you before not to worry about that! Sure, it hurt, but you more than made up for it later. It’s okay!” Bram leaned in and wrapped his arms around Simon, and he felt Simon nod into his collarbone but could tell Simon wasn’t going to let it go.

               Before long Bram and Simon had made it back downstairs to play beer pong, which they lost this time much to the chagrin of one frat boy who had had their faces printed on a tee shirt with the words “I stan a legendary duo”. Simon bought it off him after they lost. Then Simon disappeared for a bit while Bram chatted with Conner (and Bram was certain Conner was trying to suggest a three way. Which Bram wasn’t COMPLETELY against). Before long Bram felt Simon’s hand on his, leading him away into the party. Pretty soon Bram found himself at a familiar door that Simon unlocked. Bram lead the way again, and soon they were on the roof.

               “This is still my favorite view in the city,” Bram said Simon retrieved two beers from the hidden cooler. Then they went up to the ledge and sat down and looked at the city as they drank beer. Eventually Bram turned to Simon, “Why’d you bring me up here Simon?” Simon took another sip of his beer and swallowed.

               “I know you wanted me to forget about the whole running away thing but I couldn’t, because I knew this was one of your favorite spots. And there’s such a negative thing attached to this place so I wanted to… I don’t know, redo it?” Bram smiled at Simon, then put his hand on top of Simon’s on the ledge. Simon turned back to look at Bram.

               “Simon, you can’t make it go away, ad that’s okay! It was still my first kiss, and it was still with you, and I’m still with you now. When I look back, that night… That was a positive in my life. You don’t need to redo something that’s already good.” And slowly Bram leaned in and cupped Simon’s jaw before kissing him softly. When he pulled back, Simon’s eyes were still closed.

               “Wow,” Simon sighed before opening them, and Bram was struck by the brilliance of Simon’s grey eyes in the moonlight. Then they both turned back to stare at the skyline. Simon shuffled into Bram and leaned his head on Bram’s shoulder. They sat there in silence for a moment.

               “I think Conner wants us to have a threesome with him, by the way,” whispered Bram.

               “Oh, definitely!” Simon laughed as he looked up at Bram, “I told him it’s a solid maybe.”

               “A solid maybe?” joked Bram.

               “Oh yeah. I’ve been working on a list of conditions.”

               “Okay, what is on your list of three-way conditions?”      

               “Conner has to bring the snacks”

               “Oh, definitely,” agreed Bram, “What else?”

               “That’s it so far.” At that, both boys laughed into the darkness, their joy echoing off the buildings below and out into the night.

 

**Date 30**

It seemed like May had come along too quickly, and with May came exams, and with exams Bram regrettably needed more alone time. One of his professors had decided that their final was worth 50% of the mark, and another professor had taught basically NONE of the stuff on the exam. So Bram was, needless to say, stressed the fuck out. All the time.

               The thing Bram hated the most about this was that it meant he spent so little time with Simon. He felt terrible when he had only been able to go see Simon in Little Shop of Horrors once out of their ten performances. Simon had regularly told him it was fine, his exams were important, but Bram felt so bad he’d bought the three biggest bouquets he could find to give Simon after the show. Simon had loved them.

               But that was a week ago, and Bram had not seen Simon since. They texted every day, with Simon making sure Bram ate and went to bed so that he could study properly, and pass his exams. Simon had his own exams too, but they were later in the exam period, and Bram felt Simon was more confident in his ability to pass his classes than Bram was in his own.

               Bram was thinking about this in the middle of what was arguable his hardest exam, then blinked that away so he could focus on… whatever this was. Honestly this exam was just as convoluted and incomprehensible as the professor’s classes had been. Bram sighed, then set to work answering the question he hoped was being asked.

               Two hours later, Bram handed his exam into his invigilator and left the gym the exam was being held in. He had one more left, and he had a week to prepare, so he was so ready to go home and nap. For two days.

               But when he left the gym building, Bram stopped. Simon was standing there. With a basket. Simon saw Bram exit and smiled before sauntering over and kissing Bram.

               “Hi babe,” Simon smiled as Bram stared at him like Simon had just been nominated People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.

               “Si, what are you doing here?” Bram asked as thoughts of his bed were quickly replaced by thoughts of Simon in his bed.

               “I knew how bad this exam was going to be and how hard you studied for it, so I thought I’d surprise you. How did it go, by the way?”

               “Ugh, I don’t want to think about it!” Bram groaned as he hid his face in his hands.

               “That’s okay, I got just the thing to distract you in here!” Simon swung the basket he was holding a little, bumping Bram with it. Bram looked down at it.

               “What’s in there?”

               “It’s a secret,” Simon said with a cheeky smile.

               “This isn’t going to be anything like the dildo incident, is it?”

               “I… you’re never going to let that go, are you?” Simon’s shoulder shrank and Bram chuckled before wrapping his arms around Simon.

               “I’m sorry.” He whispered into Simon’s ear, “I will never mention the dildo incident again,” he kissed Simon’s cheek, “Now I’d love to find out what that surprise you have is.”

               Simon lead Bram away from Columbia’s campus to the south, then east. They crossed Central Park West into the park, and Simon lead Bram further into the park. Eventually Simon stopped on a small hill overlooking the reservoir.

               “Here, we are!” He said before setting the basket down. Then he opened the lid and pulled a blanket out and set that on the ground. He sat on it, and motioned from Bram to join him. As Bram sat down, Simon reached into the basket and pulled out two individually wrapped sandwiches. He put one on the ground in front of him and handed one to Bram, before reaching back into the basket. He pulled out two wine glasses and did the same with those. He finally pulled out a bottle of wine that Bram recognized as medium priced from his local bodega, and a box of Oreos.

               “What’s all this for?” asked Bram.

               “I thought we could have a picnic! It’s a nice day, and you only have one exam left,” Simon paused, “And I missed you.” Simon got a corkscrew out of the basket and opened the wine before pouring some into each wine glass.

               “I missed you too,” whispered Bram before accepting one of the wine glasses from Simon. They clinked their glasses together and took a sip.

               “And it’s our six-month anniversary,” mumbled Simon. Bram’s eyes went wide and then a little bit of wine went down the wrong way. Bram started to cough, and Simon immediately moved over and started patting Bram on the back. When Bram was able to breathe properly, he looked over at Simon.

               “I can’t believe I didn’t realize!” He said maybe a little too loudly.

               “It’s okay, you were so focused on your exams. So, I made us a picnic!” Simon said with a smile before leaning in to kiss Bram on the cheek. Bram stared at Simon.

               “How the hell did I end up with someone so goddamn perfect as you?” he whispered.

               “You finally made a move,” Simon joked before taking a sip of his wine. They sat on that hill, eating their sandwiches and drinking wine until Bram noticed a patrolman meandering around the side of the reservoir. They finished their glasses of wine and hastily hid the bottle and glasses in the basket before he noticed them. After he left they agreed not to risk it again, and just sat on the hill eating Oreos, even staying until the sun started to set, and a bright orange reflected off the water below them.

 

**Date 32**

               How Simon had done it, Bram wasn’t sure. But he had convinced his dad to drive the action wagon (“Bram it’s just a Subaru, it’s not a real action wagon”) up to New York so that he and Bram could then drive down for the summer instead of flying. And there they were, an hour out of the city, passing Edison New Jersey as they headed south on the 95. Bram was shotgun, his arm hanging out the open window as Simon sang along to Celine Dion while he drove.

               They were going to do the trip in two days, stopping to sleep somewhere in Virginia. Bram wanted to stop at a barbeque restaurant in South Carolina, and Simon was hoping they could make quick detour into Philadelphia for a few hours of sightseeing. As they drove through New Jersey, Bram turned to look at Simon.

               “You ready for a summer back in Georgia?” Bram asked. Simon stopped singing to think, then shrugged.

               “I think so,” he said, “We survived Christmas, so I think we can do this.” Bram laughed, thinking back to how hectic Christmas had been when their parents had found out they were dating.

               “Yeah,” agreed Bram, “But then again we only had to deal with them for two weeks. Not two months!”

               “Abraham Louis Greenfeld, are you suggesting our parents are going to ruin our summer?”

               “No… not on purpose…” Bram turned and looked back outside.

               “Hey…” Bram looked back at Simon. “It is going to be a good summer. Because we’re going to have each other. And it’s only two months then we’re back to New York for a month before school starts.”

               “Right… so how are we going to tell them we’re moving in together?” Bram asked. Simon laughed.

               “We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.”

               “Cross.” Replied Bram.

               “Huh?”

               “The saying is ‘cross that bridge’.”

               “Oh… Well we’ll do that too.” With that, Simon took his right hand off the steering wheel and reached over for Bram’s. When he found purchase, he pulled Bram’s hand up to his mouth and kissed it before letting go and putting his hand back on the steering wheel. Before long he was back to singing Celine Dion, and Bram couldn’t help but smile and watch this goofy ass boy.

               And he didn’t ask how he was so lucky. He was just happy he was.

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been playing with the idea for this for a while, very happy I finally wrote it out. Hope this is the follow-up you all dreamed of.
> 
> Oh and another thank-you to Margaret, who continues to be the best beta-reader a dork could ask for.


End file.
